Glossary of woodworking terms
Encyclopedia
This page is a glossary of woodworking terms.

A

  • Applied carving - background which is worked separately and then applied, rather than being worked in place.
  • Architrave - ornamental mouldings around a door or window frame, covering the joint between the frame and plaster.

B

  • Bead
    Bead (woodworking)
    A bead is a woodworking decorative treatment applied to various elements of wooden furniture, boxes and other items.A bead is typically a rounded shape cut into a square edge to soften the edge and provide some protection against splitting...

     - a semicircular piece of moulding.
  • Bench dog
    Bench dog
    A bench dog is an accessory used on a woodworking workbench to allow clamping of wooden items whilst being worked.At its most basic a bench dog is simply a peg which is installed in a corresponding dog hole in the top of a bench...

     or Bench stop - a peg standing proud of the bench surface.
  • Bolster - shoulder.
  • Blind - a term used to describe joinery whose mating surfaces do not protrude through the face or end grain of the pieces being joined. Example - blind mortise and tenon joint
  • Burl
    Burl
    A burl or bur or burr is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from dormant buds.A burl results from a tree undergoing some form of stress. It may be caused...

     - a knotty growth from a tree with a convoluted, complex grain.

C

  • Cannel, channel - the concavity of a gouge
    Gouge
    Gouge may refer to:*Gouge, a form of chisel*Gouais blanc, a French wine grape*Price gouging, a legal term*Eye-gouging , an offence in rugby union*Eye-gouging, the act of pressing or tearing the eye...

     blade.
  • Card scraper
    Card scraper
    A card scraper is a woodworking shaping and finishing tool. It is used to manually remove small amounts of material and excels in tricky grain areas where hand planes would cause tear out. Card scrapers are most suitable for working with hardwoods, and can be used instead of sandpaper...

     - a flat blade with a burred edge used for smoothing.
  • Chatoyance - the effect seen in dramatic wood grain direction changes as seen in flame figured maple.
  • Chip carving
    Chip carving
    Chip carving or chip-carving, kerbschnitt in German, is a style of carving in which knives or chisels are used to remove small chips of the material from a flat surface in a single piece. The style became important in Migration Period metalwork, mainly Animal style jewellery, where the faceted...

     - incised surface decoration, usually geometric.
  • Chops - a type of vise
    Vise
    Vise may refer to:* Miami Vise, a defunct AFL team* Vise , a mechanical screw apparatus* Vise , an architectural element* Venus In-Situ Explorer * The Vise, TV show* Visé, BelgiumPeople with the surname Vise:...

    .
  • Climb cut - On a table saw or router, cutting against the normal feed direction at the end of the cut to prevent tearout.
  • Close grain - woods with very fine fibers of cells that are not visibly porous.
  • Conversion - reduction of a whole log into pieces suitable for working.
  • Crook - longitudinal bending to one side, caused by uneven seasoning or grain.
  • Crotch - the section of a tree where a branch divides from the trunk, or the trunk divides in two; typically an area of convoluted grain.
  • Crossgrain - working perpendicular to the grain
    Wood grain
    In speaking of wood the term grain refers to the alternating regions of relatively darker and lighter wood resulting from the differing growth parameters occurring in different seasons . The term is used in several ways. Perhaps most important is that in woodworking techniques...

    .
  • Crosscut - a cut made perpendicular to the grain.
  • Crown of thorns
    Crown of Thorns (woodworking)
    The Crown of Thorns is a woodworking technique using interlocking wooden sticks that are notched to intersect at right angles forming joints and self supporting objects, objects that have a "prickly" and transparent quality...

     - a system of self-supporting and interlocking pieces.
  • Cup - transverse bending, convex or concave, usually predictable, considering grain orientation.

D

  • Dado
    Dado (joinery)
    A dado , housing or trench is a slot or trench cut into the surface of a piece of machinable material, usually wood. When viewed in cross-section, a dado has three sides...

     - a slot made across the grain.
  • Dovetail joint
    Dovetail joint
    A dovetail joint or simply dovetail is a joint technique most commonly used in woodworking joinery. Noted for its resistance to being pulled apart , the dovetail joint is commonly used to join the sides of a drawer to the front....

     - a joint technique most commonly used in woodworking joinery
    Woodworking joints
    Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining together pieces of wood, to create furniture, structures, toys, and other items. Some wood joints employ fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, while others use only wood elements. The characteristics of wooden joints - strength, flexibility,...

    . Noted for its resistance to being pulled apart (tensile strength
    Tensile strength
    Ultimate tensile strength , often shortened to tensile strength or ultimate strength, is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before necking, which is when the specimen's cross-section starts to significantly contract...

    ), the dovetail joint is commonly used to join the sides of a drawer to the front.
  • Drill
    Drill
    A drill or drill motor is a tool fitted with a cutting tool attachment or driving tool attachment, usually a drill bit or driver bit, used for drilling holes in various materials or fastening various materials together with the use of fasteners. The attachment is gripped by a chuck at one end of...

     - (verb) the process of making holes in a material or (noun) a tool for drilling holes.

E

  • End grain - the grain at the end of a piece of wood which is perpendicular to the surface.

F

  • Face - when a board has one side that is wider than the other, the wider side is referred to as the face (as opposed to the edge). May also refer to the face that is to be visible in the finished item.
  • Fence - a flat and straight length of some material, usually wood, steel or aluminium, which provides a reference for tools to work against, or which prevents the work from sliding.
  • Fiber/fibre - the fine tube-like structure of wood which is hollow and determines the grain direction.
  • Figure
    Figure (wood)
    In wood, figure refers to the appearance of wood, as seen on a longitudinal surface : a "figured wood" is not plain.The figure of a particular piece of wood is, in part, due to its grain and, in part, due to the cut, or to innate properties of the wood...

     - naturally occurring decorative patterns in wood, caused by either growth increments or tissue orientation.
  • Firmer - a chisel
    Chisel
    A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal. The handle and blade of some types of chisel are made of metal or wood with a sharp edge in it.In use, the chisel is forced into the material...

     bevelled on both sides instead of only one.
  • Fishtail chisel or gouge - a chisel or gouge with a splayed end.
  • Flat gouge - a gouge with minimal curvature, used for finishing and smoothing.
  • Flitch - a board in which the round of the trunk is still visible, a rough-cut board.
  • Flute - a deep channel cut in wood* occasionally denotes the cannel of a gouge.
  • Foxing - a yellow-brown discoloration of wood due to fungal infection.
  • Fret saw - a saw with a very fine toothed blade used for delicate cuts in thin material.
  • Frost
    Frosting (decorative arts)
    A decorative art technique based on the climatatogical nature of frost is the technique of Frosting.-Examples of ancient Egyptian steles:Eventually Ancient Egyptian steles became more than just statements about a topic or events, and became a means of decoration. Later period steles were made in...

    ing - regular indented patterns created with a special-purpose punch called a froster.

G

  • Grain
    Wood
    Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

     - the longitudinal fibers in wood.
  • Gouge - a chisel like tool with a curved cutting edge.
  • Green wood - unseasoned wood.
  • Grit - the grade of particles in sandpaper
    Sandpaper
    Sandpaper, also known as glasspaper, is a heavy paper with abrasive material attached to its surface.Sandpaper is part of the "coated abrasives" family of abrasive products. It is used to remove small amounts of material from surfaces, either to make them smoother , to remove a layer of material...

     or sharpening stone
    Sharpening stone
    Sharpening stones, water stones or whetstones are used to grind and hone the edges of steel tools and implements. Examples of items that may be sharpened with a sharpening stone include scissors, scythes, knives, razors and tools such as chisels, hand scrapers and plane blades...

    s which determines the aggressiveness of the cut.
  • Groove - a slot or channel made with the grain, usually on the end-grain in preparation for a tongue and groove joint.

H

  • Hand plane - see Plane.
  • Hardwood
    Hardwood
    Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...

     - wood from an angiosperm tree, i.e. a tree in the division Magnoliophyta. Despite the name, not necessarily very hard or dense wood (e.g. balsa
    Balsa
    Ochroma pyramidale, commonly known as the balsa tree , is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is a large, fast-growing tree that can grow up to tall. It is the source of balsa wood, a very lightweight material with many uses...

     is a hardwood), although generally harder than softwoods.
  • Heart shake - a shake radiating out from the heartwood.
  • Heel - the corner of a chisel, knife
    Knife
    A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...

    , or gouge bevel which meets the back of the blade
    Blade
    A blade is that portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with a cutting edge and/or a pointed tip that is designed to cut and/or puncture, stab, slash, chop, slice, thrust, or scrape animate or inanimate surfaces or materials...

     and polishes the cut.
  • Hold down or hold fast
    Hold fast
    A hold fast is an accessory used on a woodworking workbench to fix a workpiece to the top or side of the bench while it is being worked.A hold fast is shaped like a shepherd's hook. In use, the shank fits loosely into a hole in the top or side of the bench and the tip of the hook is pressed...

     - a hold-down iron, fitting into a hole in a bench, tightened or loosened by hammer taps.
  • Hollow grinding - a concave bevel on a chisel, gouge, or knife.

I

  • Incannel - the concave surface of a gouge; a gouge sharpened on the concave surface.
  • Interlocked grain - grain which has multiple longitudinal directions in alternating layers, typical of many tropical hardwoods, and very difficult to work and to produce smooth surfaces.

J

  • Jig saw
    Jigsaw
    Jigsaw may refer to:* Jigsaw , a tool used for cutting arbitrary curves* Jigsaw puzzle, a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of interlocking pieces- Film and television :* Jigsaw , a 1949 film noir...

     - a power tool that can form circular cuts by moving the work piece past a blade rapidly moving up and down.

K

  • Kerf
    Kerf
    Kerf and similar can mean:* kerf, the width of a cut* Kerf, a poetry collection by Peter Sanger* Kerala E.N.T. Research Foundation , a hospital at Kollam in Kerala in India...

     - the gap left when material is removed by a saw
    Saw
    A saw is a tool that uses a hard blade or wire with an abrasive edge to cut through softer materials. The cutting edge of a saw is either a serrated blade or an abrasive...

    . The width of the kerf is equal to the set of the saw.
  • Knots - Caused by a dead branch that was not fully integrated into the tree before it was cut down. A loose knot is one that cannot be relied upon to remain in place in the piece. A tight knot, on the other hand, is fixed by growth or position in the wood structure so that it firmly retains its place in the surrounding wood.

L

  • Lead - the tendency for wood that is being cut to direct the saw parallel to its grain.
  • LathArt - refers to a type of Folk Art that uses Lath from old plaster and lath walls

M

  • Mortise
    Mortise and tenon
    The mortise and tenon joint has been used for thousands of years by woodworkers around the world to join pieces of wood, mainly when the adjoining pieces connect at an angle of 90°. In its basic form it is both simple and strong. Although there are many joint variations, the basic mortise and tenon...

     or Mortice - a cavity or hole (generally rectangular) in a piece of wood, meant to receive a tenon
    Mortise and tenon
    The mortise and tenon joint has been used for thousands of years by woodworkers around the world to join pieces of wood, mainly when the adjoining pieces connect at an angle of 90°. In its basic form it is both simple and strong. Although there are many joint variations, the basic mortise and tenon...

     or a hinge
    Hinge
    A hinge is a type of bearing that connects two solid objects, typically allowing only a limited angle of rotation between them. Two objects connected by an ideal hinge rotate relative to each other about a fixed axis of rotation. Hinges may be made of flexible material or of moving components...

  • Mitre (UK, Cda) or Miter (US) - a joint made by fastening together pieces with the ends cut at an angle.
  • Mitre box (UK, Cda) or Miter box (US) - a box used for making mitre joints by having slots to guide a saw at the desired angle for the joint.

P

  • Plane (tool)
    Plane (tool)
    A hand plane is a tool for shaping wood. When powered by electricity, the tool may be called a planer. Planes are used to flatten, reduce the thickness of, and impart a smooth surface to a rough piece of lumber or timber. Planing is used to produce horizontal, vertical, or inclined flat surfaces on...

     - (verb) the process of removing material in thin shavings in order to make it flat, or (noun) a tool for planing.
  • Plane iron - cutting part of a hand plane.
  • Planer
    Planer
    The term planer may refer to several types of carpentry tools, woodworking machines or metalworking machine tools.*Plane : a hand tool used to produce flat surfaces by shaving the surface of the wood...

     - or thicknesser. a machine which reduces the thickness of boards.

Q

  • Quarter-sawn
    Quarter Sawing
    "History of Quarter Sawn Wood"Henry W. Maley is known as the Father of Quarter Sawed Oak. He was the owner of an Edinburgh, Indiana saw mill. In 1881, he accidentally discovered the method of sawing, while filling an order for a cabinet maker. He turned the large log, cutting it on the bias to get...

     - describes a plank with growth rings
    Dendrochronology
    Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...

     perpendicular to the wider face.

R

  • Rabbet
    Rabbet
    A rabbet is a recess or groove cut into the edge of a piece of machineable material, usually wood. When viewed in cross-section, a rabbet is two-sided and open to the edge or end of the surface into which it is cut....

     - A 'groove' cut parallel to, and at the edge of, a board.
  • Rail - Horizontal member of a frame
    Frame and panel
    Frame and panel construction is a woodworking technique often used in the making of doors, wainscoting, and other decorative features for cabinets, furniture, and homes...

     on a door, window or panel.
  • Rasp
    Rasp
    A rasp is a tool used for shaping wood or other material. It consists of a point or the tip, then a long steel bar or the belly, then the heel or bottom, then the tang. The tang is joined to a handle, usually made of plastic or wood. The bar has sharp teeth...

     - a long and flat steel tool with raised teeth for shaping wood.
  • Reed - a series of beads in a row.
  • Relief cut - short straight cuts made at right angles to a curved layout so sharper than normal curves can be cut with a jig saw or band saw.
  • Riffler - a paddle-shaped rasp
    Rasp
    A rasp is a tool used for shaping wood or other material. It consists of a point or the tip, then a long steel bar or the belly, then the heel or bottom, then the tang. The tang is joined to a handle, usually made of plastic or wood. The bar has sharp teeth...

    .
  • Rift sawn - similar to quarter-sawn.
  • Ring shake - a shake occurring between annual rings.
  • Rip - a cut made parallel to the grain.
  • Route - to cut a channel or groove.

S

  • Saw rasp - a rasp with saw teeth.
  • Scorp - a drawknife
    Drawknife
    A drawknife is a traditional woodworking hand tool used to shape wood by removing shavings. It consists of a blade with a handle at each end. The blade is much longer than it is deep...

     with a curved, sometimes completely circular blade, often used for hollowing out objects such as bowls.
  • Scratch awl
    Scratch awl
    A scratch awl is a woodworking layout and point-making tool. It is used to scribe a line to be followed by a hand saw or chisel when making woodworking joints and other operations....

     - a sharp-pointed hand tool used to mark wood for cutting, usually used in joinery or when a more precise mark is need beyond that provided by a pencil or other method of marking out the cut.
  • Scroll saw
    Scroll saw
    A scroll saw is a small electric or pedal-operated saw that is useful for cutting intricate curves in cases where a jigsaw or coping saw is not appropriate. It is capable of creating curves with edges...

     - a motorized fretsaw
    Fretsaw
    The fretsaw is a saw used for intricate cutting work which often incorporates tight curves. Although the coping saw is often used for similar work, the fretsaw is capable of much tighter radii and more delicate work...

    .
  • Seasoning - reducing the moisture content of wood before working to prevent cracking, splitting, and other damage due to drying.
  • Shake - a crack or split in wood, caused by damage or drying. Can also mean a split (as opposed to sawn) shingle.
  • Shoot - planing an edge straight or square. See Shooting board
    Shooting board
    A shooting board is a woodworking workbench accessory which is used in combination with a hand plane to trim and square up the edges and ends of boards.There are two specific purposes to which shooting boards are applied: jointing and end grain trimming...

    .
  • Slab-cut - describes a plank with growth rings roughly parallel to the wider face.
  • Slick - a giant chisel used in framing and traditional building construction.
  • Slip - a shaped stone used for sharpening non-flat blades such as gouges.
  • Snib - a wooden toggle used to hold the work on a table.
  • Softwood
    Softwood
    The term softwood is used to describe wood from trees that are known as gymnosperms.Conifers are an example. It may also be used to describe trees, which tend to be evergreen, notable exceptions being bald cypress and the larches....

     - wood from a gymnosperm
    Gymnosperm
    The gymnosperms are a group of seed-bearing plants that includes conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and Gnetales. The term "gymnosperm" comes from the Greek word gymnospermos , meaning "naked seeds", after the unenclosed condition of their seeds...

     tree, i.e. trees in the divisions Pinophyta
    Pinophyta
    The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being...

     and Ginkgo
    Ginkgo
    Ginkgo , also spelled gingko and known as the Maidenhair Tree, is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives...

    phyta Despite the name, not necessarily very soft or light wood (e.g. douglas-fir
    Douglas-fir
    Douglas-fir is one of the English common names for evergreen coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. Other common names include Douglas tree, and Oregon pine. There are five species, two in western North America, one in Mexico, and two in eastern Asia...

     is a softwood).
  • Spalting
    Intraspecific antagonism
    Intraspecific antagonism means a disharmonious or antagonistic interaction between two individuals of the same species. As such, it could be a sociological term, but was actually coined by Alan Rayner and Norman Todd working at Exeter University in the late 1970s, to characterise a particular kind...

     - a change in the texture, strength and color of wood caused by colonies of fungus growing within the dead wood. Where colonies of fungus meet, fine black lines - often considered a desirable feature, can be seen.
  • Split - to longitudinally separate wood along grain layers.
  • Sticking - a moulding
    Molding (decorative)
    Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...

     that is part of a larger piece of wood such as a frame (as opposed to being applied).
  • Stile (or sometimes style) - vertical member of a frame on a door, window or panel.
  • Stringer - in stairs
    Stairs
    -People:* Scott Kannberg , guitarist of Pavement* A. Edison Stairs , New Brunswick politician* Denis Stairs , engineer, Montreal businessman* Ernest W. Stairs , New Brunswick politician...

    , a is a timber (usually 2"x12") that supports the treads and rises in a staircase.
  • Sweep - the curvature of a gouge, ranging from flat (little curvature, but not actually flat else it would be a chisel) to deep or quick.

T

  • Tear out - broken or torn fibres resulting from damage as the blade of a tool exits the cut.
  • Tenon
    Mortise and tenon
    The mortise and tenon joint has been used for thousands of years by woodworkers around the world to join pieces of wood, mainly when the adjoining pieces connect at an angle of 90°. In its basic form it is both simple and strong. Although there are many joint variations, the basic mortise and tenon...

     - is a projection on the end of a piece of wood for insertion into a mortise.
  • Tread - in stairs the part that is stepped on.
  • Twist - longitudinal twisting of wood due to uneven seasoning or grain.

V

  • Veiner - a small deep gouge.
  • Veneer (wood) - very thin slices of wood used for inlay or to cover surfaces.
  • Veneer saw
    Veneer saw
    The veneer saw is a small double-edged tool for cutting thin hardwood veneer. Its narrow curved blade facilitates precision work, and its elevated offset handle makes it possible to cut flush with a surface...

     - specialty tool for trimming veneer.

W

  • Wane - an edge of a sawn board where the bark or surface of the trunk remains.
  • Warp - distorted lumber, such as a twist, cup or a bow.
  • Wasting - quickly removing wood during carving, usually with an adze
    Adze
    An adze is a tool used for smoothing or carving rough-cut wood in hand woodworking. Generally, the user stands astride a board or log and swings the adze downwards towards his feet, chipping off pieces of wood, moving backwards as they go and leaving a relatively smooth surface behind...

    , knife, or rasp.
  • Waste - wood that will be removed in the finished work, often retained during working as a handle.
  • Wood
    Wood
    Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

     - an organic material, a natural composite
    Composite material
    Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...

     of cellulose
    Cellulose
    Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β linked D-glucose units....

     fibers (which are strong in tension) embedded in a matrix of lignin
    Lignin
    Lignin or lignen is a complex chemical compound most commonly derived from wood, and an integral part of the secondary cell walls of plants and some algae. The term was introduced in 1819 by de Candolle and is derived from the Latin word lignum, meaning wood...

    which resists compression.
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